Silver Lining
by CMXC
Summary: In order to find her missing twin brother and salvage her family's dignity, Edna Argent has to impersonate her brother as a cadet in the State Military. Things would be easy too, until a Flame Alchemist added fuel to the fire. Roy/Oc. No flames! BrotherHD


**Author's Note:** If I owned anything from FMA, Alphonse would have his own SPCA shelter for all the cute strays he has adopted. (Sadly I don't own it, damn.) I only own my OC: Edna Argent in this. This is my first FMA fanfic, and I absolutely love the Brotherhood series. Hope you enjoy it! :3

_(In the briefing room for new recruits…)_

"Alright you maggots! Becoming a soldier ain't as easy as pie!" The General in Amestrian State Military uniform barked. "You want to serve the Führer? You gotta have guts!

"Courage!" The General sharply turned to the new recruits with a sharp gaze.

"Loyalty!" With every bark, the hairs of each man's neck stood straight, their legs shivered as the commando walked past them. Sweat poured from the foreheads, goose bumps popping out of their skin. The bald General eyed each man with a level of seriousness, shaking his head at the men ready to piss in their pants.

"And last of all…" He stopped right in front of me, sharply focusing at me. "You need-"

Suddenly a large officer bashed against the bald commando, sending him crashing to the wall across the room. The man with a blonde moustache flexed his muscles, ripping his shirt off- literally. "MUSCLES!" The overly muscular giant exclaimed in joy. "For nothing is more manlier than the body of man himself!"

Sweat drops fell on every single man as Alex Louis Armstrong flexed his huge muscles 'gloriously' while being surrounding by pink sparkles. I sighed to myself. How the hell did I get into this mess? And why am I signing up for military when I could be getting a normal job or cooking dinner for my family?

The answer was simple: Soldiers don't do that. Especially boys.

Then again, I'm not exactly a boy.

**=1=**

**Why am I here again?**

Aside from me, my quirky family of five included my parents, a twin brother and a ten years old baby brother. My father used to be a Amestrian State Military General, until he lost his legs to an explosion and replaced them with automails. Years later, he retired into helping out at my mother's convenience store, while my elder brother had to take over the reins of duty. Or at least he was supposed to until…

"What do you mean you can't go to the army?" I shrieked.

My whimpering older twin brother, Aiden hid in my closet, timidly peeking out of the door. It was freakin' three in the morning when I heard the strangest noise close to sniffling. Pass the age of boogiemen and monsters in the closets, I dragged myself out of the bed and slammed the closet door open. I guessed I must have looked like hell to get my brother screaming high soprano. It was then that he confessed to me of his last minute backing out of joining the State Military. Apparently, Aiden was afraid of violence. In fact, he rather let a mosquito suck his blood then kill it. "They had to do that to survive!" He argued.

Then he was on his knees begging and pleading, hugging my leg with fountains of tears gushing out of his eyes. "Please, Edna! I can't do this!" He looked up, flashing his teary puppy eyes. "Don't you love me? Your brother?"

"How about I show you my love with a kick to the face!"

And I would have too, if it weren't for his next interruptions.

"But Edna! I'm a good for nothing! I only know how to cook, sew, clean-"

Oh boy. "Aiden."

"-I can't fight and I can't use alchemy-"

I gritted my teeth. "Aiden."

"- My only dream is to open my very own café and a flower shop in the gardens-"

"Aiden for God's sake would you listen to yourself? You've already registered with the military, went to their academy for crying out loud! And here you are whining to a 23 years old woman who can't even use alchemy or punch for nuts!"

"That's a lie Edna! I've seen you slicing vegetables like those ninja cooks on TV and you look nothing like a woman in her twenties…" He paused uneasily at my intense glare. "At least not older than you really look."

It was true. Even though I was 23, my body was that of a 17 year old. To add insult, any ordinary person would be fooled because of my 'baby-face'- as how my mother would embarrassingly put it. This had been my curse since I stopped wearing diapers.

"Geez, I don't understand what's wrong. The army is like school for you guys. Weren't there supposed to be female officers too?" I groaned.

Aiden pouted. "From what I heard, the Headquarters I'm being assigned to has no girls. And I'm not so _comfortable_ with boys…"

"What do you mean-" I froze, his words hinting something dreadful. "Wait. You don't mean you're…"

He fiddled with his fingers nervously. "Edna, there's something I should have told you…"

_God please no. Please don't tell me what I think you're about to tell me!_

"I'm gay."

"OH GOD NO! NO, AIDEN! NOT **YOU**! NOT MY **OWN** TWIN BROTHER!" I screamed in agony, covering my burning eyes.

"I'm sorry, Edna."

"My eyes! My virgin mind! My innocence!" I exclaimed, clenching my teeth at him. "Do you realize what you have done?"

Aiden smiled apologetically. "Yeah. I'm sorry, sis. But I'm sick and tired of living to Dad's chauvinistic expectations. I can't afford to be tied down to do something that's not me."

I opened my mouth for another retort, but Aiden simply shut me up by ruffling my hair. He flashed a toothy smile; cyan eyes gazed lovingly at me for once last time.

"Take care of yourself, Edna."

Aiden ran away from home that night. And I couldn't stop him. I never could. All because his words about Dad had distracted me long enough for him to climb out of the window. Believe me, I chased him down to the garage but he managed to make a getaway with his new motorbike.

I should have done something, but I couldn't. I was useless. _Like a girl._

The next morning, Aiden's disappearance didn't go unnoticed. Dad got so riled up that he suffered a major cardiac arrest and high blood pressure stroke. Two attacks at the same time! Mum, Danny and I had to rush him to the nearest hospital and things were looking bad when the doctor announced Dad's bed-ridden sentence for the next three months. It looked like age was catching up to him fast.

Adding on to the situation was the Führer's visit.

"Your son didn't turn up for the registration, my old friend. And this is a worrying matter for your family," King Bradley spoke gravely. Apparently they were old comrades of sorts.

Leaving me to wait with Danny outside the ward, Mum attempted to explain the situation. But Bradley's frown was anything but a good sign. I watched from the corner of my eye as his accompanying officers demanded reasons and insisted that the registration could not be cancelled since it had been implemented days prior till now. Unfortunately, Aiden forgot to inform me that he had signed all the necessary documents and retracting his registration now would require a huge fortune. I seriously felt like killing Aiden then.

_Didn't he know we aren't as rich as the Armstrong aristocrats? Sheesh!_

"Edna?" I looked down to Danny, tugging at my sleeve worriedly. I bit my lip. This was a whole mess. Danny was still too young to enlist; Mum has to take care of my bed-ridden Dad; and Aiden (that cowardly son-of-a-gun) ran off to God knows where to pursue his homo desires! What rotten luck! Of all the people, why did the homo have to be my own freakin' twin brother?

_Twin._

Out of the blue, an idea struck. A smile crept on my lips. If I have to save my family and find my brother, there's only one thing left for me to do.

"Edna?"

I bent down to Danny's level, grinning. "Wait here and take care of Mummy, ok?" I told him. He nodded cheerfully and flashing one last smile, I ran to the ladies room. Snatching a nearby pair of scissors a medical trolley, I snuck into the hospital restroom. Looking straight at my reflection, I raised the scissors to a lock of my ginger hair. "Goodbye hair."

**Snip.**

"And hello Hell," I grinned.

So marks the day I bid sayonara to Edna, and welcomed Aiden.

Once I copied Aiden's short, wild hairstyle all that was left was convincing Bradley and his officers. Which means I need an excuse. A really, really good one.

=X=X=X=

"Hello everybody!" Hughes exclaimed in joy, jumping up and down in the office. Everyone sighed as their hyperactive friend shoved pictures of his wife and kids at their faces, rambling about how adorable they were.

"You see? This one shows my little girl ride a tricycle! And this one shows her in her new dress! And this one shows her eating ice cream with my wife in town. Isn't she so CUTE?"

Colonel Roy Mustang tapped on his desk, tsking in annoyance. "Hughes, if you want to show your family off do that outside. I'm busy with work."

_Speak for yourself, Kernel! You haven't even started on your own work!_ His subordinates thought in unison.

"But Roy dear boy, you haven't even started on your own work!" Hughes cheerfully implied.

"Don't say that aloud!" Breda, Falman and Fuery yelled simultaneously. Roy ignored the remark as Havoc and Risa entered the office.

"Did you hear? The Cadets Orientation program is about to start!" Havoc announced.

"Ooh! Its that time of the year already?" Hughes shook with excitement.

"Yeah. They're having their training with Major Armstrong right now."

=X=X=X=

_(Outside in the courtyard…)_

"ARGH! I DON'T WANNA DIE!" A soldier screamed, only to be sent flying by Armstrong's wave attack on the ground. His fists pounded repeatedly into the cement, causing arches and obstacles to form along the course.

"Do not fear my young cadets! Just thirty more minutes to go!" Armstrong proclaimed.

"But the training just started!"

He punched the ground with his alchemist knuckles, transforming the rubble into projectile arsenals. The cadets barely dodged except for an unlucky few who were knocked out on impact.

"Crap! Louie!"

"ARGH! WE'RE SCREWED!"

"I should have gone to art school!"

I rolled to the side, continuing to run as fast as I could. According to Major Armstrong, this was his special obstacle-training course for every new cadet. But as he promised, it wasn't a bed of roses. 'It's the survival of the fittest,' as he quoted from his older sister. So to beat this course, all we had to do was simple: survive and don't die. On a small note, failures will still get a small consolation prize- a shiny new wheelchair for free. That kind of gave me a good reason not to get distracted.

As if surviving wasn't enough, all this jumping and dodging is making my stomach cramp in fear. I barely escaped one projectile with a cut across my leg. Thankfully it wasn't too deep, but gosh it still hurt.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Just then, one cadet ran ahead of me, only to smack right into a pillar of stone.

"Less complaining and more running!" Armstrong bellowed.

=X=X=X=

"So the Military is getting more personnel. Big deal," Roy sighed tiredly.

"From what I heard, the cadet who didn't show up for his registration is turning up today," Riza said.

Roy looked up in interest. "And the Führer allowed him in?"

"Apparently with great interest. He believes that this new cadet has potential."

Roy lay back against his chair, filing through his reports. "So who is this so-called cadet?"

=X=X=X=

"Aiden Argent."

I sat calmly as the officer scrutinized his slit eyes at my face. "You look a little young to be enlisted."

I cringed at the officer's comment, holding back a retort. "No, sir. I'm 23," I managed to reply.

The officer stared at me, astonished. "Oh, I see… Well then. Aiden, you may retrieve your uniform from the office down the hallway to the left."

I thanked the officer and strode off. My shoulders slumped tiredly as I walked out of the interview room. The last two hours were grueling and merciless- only consisting of the training obstacle course by Major Armstrong. Bradley was convinced (sort of) that I was Aiden and had allowed me entry into the ranks of the State Military. The only condition was that I had to carry out his 'punishment': Carrying reports and acting as messenger around the East HQ building for the next three days.

It seemed so easy. Until I discovered that the entire headquarters was four football fields wide and a scaffolding building in height. Two hours later, I was ready to give out. Crap, my legs were going to ache for the next morning. I tried on the new Briggs uniform, marveling at how the blue matched with gold. I smiled in at my reflection.

_Congratulations, Edna. You're now officially a dog for the military.__ Just stick to their good books, and they'll give you permission to go on your own investigation for Aiden._

At least, that was the plan after overhearing some guards talking about how soldiers get to conduct their own investigation with the right permission. All I needed was to get into a platoon or a 'special' group.

As I stepped out of the dressing room, a blond officer strolled by. Normally, I had nothing against blondes, but what shocked me was not the hair colour. What startled me was the fact that it was not a HE, but a SHE!

_So there were girls in State Military after all! Damn you Aiden, why did you have to be a frog in the well about this?_

"Is something wrong, soldier?" The woman asked coldly. I gulped, shaking my head vigorously. "No, ma'am!"

The blond woman gave an icy stare before walking off. A lump formed in my throat. Boy, was she scary. Judging by her high stature-like appearance, she must be a high-ranking officer.

During my 'work' I met more of the new soldiers starting the day just like me. Most of them seemed pleasant, though there was always a bunch of them who seemed rather unfriendly. _Better not step over their toes_, I reminded myself. The endless waves of reports and letters were beast! I felt as if I was running in a marathon all over the building. At my fourth batch, my whole body was dying for a break.

"I think I'm going to grow muscles on my arms after this," I moaned. Taking my list out, I checked the box and stopped at the last one. "Hmm, the last one should be around here somewhere."

After walking mid-way down the building to the second floor, I stopped at the door of the office. Checking the officer number plate, I sighed in relief. "Yup, this is the one."

I knocked on the door, and stood waiting, shoving my hands into my pockets. After ten minutes of no response, I knocked again. But still, there was nothing. With the silence testing my patience, I prepared myself to knock again, only to push it open instead. The door creaked slowly and I peeked into the room to find that not a single soul was inside. I entered the vacant office; my eyes darted around to finally set its sights on the stack of reports sitting on the last desk across the room. Gleefully, I went to retrieve my collection.

_Got'cha._

"What do you think you're doing there?" A low voice demanded. Flustered, I whipped around quickly, accidentally dropping one of the reports.

_Not Got'cha._

The man had unkempt black hair, dark eyes, donning the same blue uniform with a more sophisticated appearance. He looked young and (dare I say) handsome for someone in his twenties. I bent down to pick up the report, hiding my previous fluster. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm here to collect the reports due today."

"Well do you mind putting it back? I'm not done with them yet," He ordered in an annoyed tone. I stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Well? What are you waiting for? I don't have all day to finish those reports!" He added impatiently.

I had the sudden urge to punch him. And it's not because of the cologne.

I glared back. "Well why didn't you finish them sooner? You idiot!"

He twitched in surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me, you **lazy** idiot."

The man strode briskly across the room until he stood right in front of me. "Do you know who I am?" He spoke in a low threatening tone.

"Do I need to?" I sarcastically asked. His frown deepened until he noticed something peculiar. We stood there having a glaring showdown until the corner of his lips curled into a smirk.

"You look a little young to be a soldier," He mused.

My eyes widened. "Say what?"

"Tell me,_ rookie_. Are you still schooling or did you drop out because you hate life there?"

_Okay,__** that**__ tears it!_

"For the record, Mister. I'm 23!" I spat, storming out of the office before my temper flared up to annihilation mode. I could feel him still smirking like the jerk he was back in the office.

_Jerk._

_Asshole._

_Son of a Weasel-faced Jackass!_

"I hope I'll never have to see his face again!" I swore.

"Hey you there!" I turned around to meet the owner's voice- a light-brown haired man with a cigarette in his mouth. "You're one of those new recruits right?"

I nodded and he smiled even wider, stretching his hand out. "Jean Havoc. I was told to inform you rookies about the incoming trial assessment. The Führer wants to see how all the rookies will fair in mock sparring."

_Sparring? As in… fighting? For REAL? In front of thousands of people?_

My faced paled dramatically. "I-I can't fight! At least I don't think I'm that good at it."

"Relax, you don't have to be nervous. All you have to do is kick someone's butt and you're one step away from officially being accepted into a team."

"Its not that. Its just..." I held my arm nervously. "I never fight in front of so many people before."

To dumb it down: Stage Fright.

Sensing the pressure, Havoc patted my shoulder with a wink. "What's your name, rookie?"

I pursed my lips, reluctantly smiling at Havoc's silly cheerfulness. "Aiden. Aiden Argent."

We made our way to the courtyard together along with the other rookies. Though it turned out, Havoc wasn't a new recruit. He's one of the soldiers looking out for the newbies along with Major Armstrong and the rest of the officers. On the bright side, at least he wasn't much of a jerk like that smartass. As the sparring matches went on in the parading field, the crowd of soldiers cheered and roared with excitement. The brutality of each fight was enough to make me feel queasy. King Bradley himself sat on a balcony, watching the show calmly with two generals flanking his sides.

"So you were the one who didn't show up for the registration briefing?" Havoc asked, astonished.

"Yeah. My sister ran away from home and I spent the whole few nights searching for her. I'm still looking for her now."

He whistled. "Bold."

"Not so bold went telling that to the Führer and his lackeys- no offense. Now, I have to go around collecting reports and letters for him for three days. 24/7."

"Ouch."

I laughed. "Its no big deal. I'm just glad I won't have to do this job tomorrow. Especially after what that last jerk said."

That got Havoc's attention. "Who was he?"

"No idea. But he didn't finish his work and told me off. He even thought I was still in school." I slapped my cheeks together. "All because of this cursed baby face of mine."

"And I thought women liked looking younger," He joked.

My heart shot up to my throat. Noticing my reaction, Havoc quickly raised his hands in defense. "N-Not that I mean you're a girl or look like one."

"Oh..." I muttered nervously. "… I see." I shifted my gaze to the sparring match, scratching the back of my head.

_God that was too close. I thought he caught me red-handed!_

**[Aiden Argent! Please step forward for your match!]** The announcer announced.

I grimaced as everyone turned to look at me. "If I die, scatter my ashes into the sea."

Havoc slapped my back, giving a thumbs-up. "You'll be fine!"

I gave a weak smile, proceeding to the parade field of the courtyard. I took a stance (awkwardly) while waiting for my opponent. Another soldier appeared, looking rather suspicious. He kept his hands in his pockets, biding his time. His hair unkempt, his chin recently shaved; and a scar was drawn down his right cheek. But the creepy confidant grin slightly unnerved me.

Something was not right.

**[Ready… and FIGHT!]**

It took a split second for my instinct to dodge to kick in. I dodged, parrying his attacks while I think of a way out of this.

_Focus, Edna! Focus! You made it out of Armstrong's obstacle course of Hell. Fighting a guy like him is a piece of cake!_

"What's the matter? Don't wanna fight?" The man taunted.

"Not really. I never had so many people staring at me while I fight," I absentmindedly replied.

Most of the cadets 'ooh-ed' at my comeback, only to be silenced by the generals. The man shot a dirty look. "Well how about you stop staring, and come at me!" He yelled, rushing at me head on. As soon as he was only an inch away from me, I stepped to the side, playfully extending one leg out. Like a charm, he tripped, falling jaw first onto the ground.

"Ole`!" I hummed. And the crowd cheered.

If I were to thank God for one thing, I thanked him for sending me waves of bullies and muggers for me to learn how to kick ass.

My opponent slowly got up, snarling with a bloody nose. "You little-"

He went into a rage, charging like an over-sized bull. His fists came slow and I caught one of them easily, kneeing him in the gut. He coughed, falling to the ground into a wheezing fit. Blood dripped to the ground and he showed no sign of getting up. This was weird. Kneeing someone in the gut wouldn't affect them that badly.

"H-Hey, are you alright?" I bend down slowly to check on him. All of a sudden, a sharp blade sliced across my left side. I flinched back in pain, groaning while my other hand went to the cut. From the corner of my eye, the man flashed a knife.

"Hey that's not fair! He's cheating!" Someone yelled. The crowd was outraged but no attempts to stop the match had been made.

"Referee! Stop the match!" I heard Havoc shout.

I winced at the sharp acute pain in my abdomen, attempting to get up. Dizziness hit me and crimson blood flowed slowly, dripping to the ground.

_Need to… stop the bleeding…_

Just then, someone kicked me in the gut, sending me rolling down the courtyard. I yelped in pain as someone pushed my head against the ground.

"What's the matter, eh? Can't fight back?" The man laughed. I gritted my teeth as he pressed the cold blade against my neck. Asshole was enjoying every moment of it. The cheater trailed the knife along my jaw line, cackling as I winced. "You're pathetic. Only a flesh wound and you're already on the ground."

"That's because you cheated, you jer- Ah!" I cried out in pain, as he elbowed my back.

"Shut up you miserable piece of crap. I'm not going to lose to a pretty boy wannabe like you!"

_Pretty boy?_

"That's right!" He spat. "And I bet'cha go for boys by day and sell yourself as a man-whore by night. So why don't you leave the military stuff to big men like me, and go back to whatever playboy mansion you belong! You piece of-"

My leg shot up to his jaw and the cadet fell to the ground holding his aching chin. Slowly, I got up, glaring down at him in seething anger. By the time he saw my face, the jerk was already trembling in fear.

"First they say I was too young… then someone believed I'm a drop-out… and now you're calling me a GAY PRETTY BOY?" I threatened lowly at his face.

"I-I-I-"

"That tears it!"

_Nobody's insulting my brother'__s name while I'm at it! Even though it's seriously ironic._

"I'm sick of people thinking that I'm gay or a kid. If I were to hear one more word from YOU, I'm making sure you'll _never_ become a father. With a kitchen knife!"

Greatly offended, he charged towards me with the knife. The pain had faded with boiling anger in my veins. Ignoring the blood loss, I charged towards him, rolling up my sleeve. "Take this!" He roared.

**WHAM!**

One minute he was in the air with me, my arm wound around his neck for a lariat takedown. The next, he was down, landing on the solid concrete with a thud. The cadet howled in pain, glaring at me. "You son of a-"

I cut him off my stepping on his right wrist. He screamed at the pain, forced to release the bloody knife. Retrieving the weapon, I toss it to the side while holding him down. "Got anything else to say?" I growled.

The man feverishly shook his head, whimpering as I released my hold on his neck.

"Next time, think before you open that big mouth of yours," I whispered darkly.

Soon, soldiers rushed to the field, pulling the shaking cadet away. The crowd was full of whispers and murmurs while Havoc rushed to my side, with some bandages. "My God, Aiden! You alright?" He offered to help bandage my cut, but I declined.

"Thanks. I'll take care of it." I wrapped the bandage around my waist.

"Hmph! Well you sure showed him who's the man today," Havoc grinned. "And you said you were going to die."

I agreed. "I'm just glad it was over."

"Not exactly."

Both Havoc and I turned to meet the last face any sane person wanted to see. The black-haired jerk-ass of an officer smirked. "Congratulations on passing your registration orientation, Cadet."

"You!" I pointed my finger at his smirking face. "You're that jerk who didn't finish his reports!"

Havoc gaped. "Aiden, are you serious?"

"It seems you have yet to forget our last meeting," He mused.

"How could I?" I scoffed.

Havoc slapped his face. "I should have known it was him."

"What are you talking about?"

Havoc jerked his thumb over to the officer behind him. "He's my superior- Colonel Roy Mustang. Aka the Flame Alchemist and Hero of the Ishval Civil War."

_Colonel? Isn't that like a rank just along the Major-_

It took me awhile before his words rang a bell- from old newspaper articles in my Dad's office. And the word alchemist didn't help either. I stared at the smirking colonel in horror, shocked beyond comprehension.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

On this day, I had become the enemy of Roy Mustang, one of the most powerful men and alchemist in the State Military.

To dumb it down: I was screwed.

Well that's all for today. Hope you enjoy it! ^_^

Edna: Are you kidding me? You just made me an enemy of the most dangerous man on the planet.

HS: He isn't the only one who's dangerous, you know.

Edna: Yeah! But he can still kill me if he wants too!

HS: Relax, if you die now there won't be a fanfic now would there.

Edna: I guess… (Uneasily looks away)

HS: Look on the bright side. At least you will be seeing more of the smoking hot Mustang.

Edna: Whoa, hold up! What do you mean by me seeing more of him?

HS: To all you readers out there! If you want to see more of Roy in the story (or at least more of his sexiness)… REVIEW LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER REVIEWED BEFORE! XD

Edna: Oy! Are you even listening?

HS: And if we get lots of reviews (Like maybe around or at least near ten for this chapter), I'll add some more romance, hilarious or 'interesting' scenes with Edna too! =w=

Edna: WTH! Don't use me as your incentive to the readers!

HS: Ciao! And remember no flames! ;)


End file.
